Weston girls topple Norwell in soccer

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QUINCY — The Weston girls’ soccer team’s 12-7-4 record appears
a little above average. But the Wildcats have been anything but in the postseason, proving it again with a 1-0 victory over Norwell on penalty kicks in the Division 3 EMass final Wednesday night. Weston will face Sutton Saturday in the state championship game at Foley Stadium in Worcester.

After a scoreless regulation and two 10-minute rounds of sudden-death overtime, the game went into penalty kicks.

Norwell goalie Bridget Conway took the first attempt, which was blocked with a stellar diving save by Weston keeper Alissa Duffey. Hannah Graves then scored to give Weston the lead.

“I was confident and I just sat there and envisioned where I was going to shoot it and I knew it was going to go in the back of the net,” said Graves.

Norwell’s next two kicks were blocked, then junior Jackie Foody knocked one in the left side to ice it for Weston.

Weston coach Rich Daestrela credits the win to homework.

“We actually really scouted them and we knew exactly where they were going the entire time, so that was a big thing for us to be able to make sure we went to watch the Dover-Sherborn game against Norwell,” said Daestrela.

Norwell (18-3-3) had an impressive season, but its offense couldn’t break through. Conway, a standout goalie, was a part of some great sets for Norwell, taking two free kicks from midfield.

“She’s going to [Boston University] to play,” said Norwell coach Kara Connerty. “She’s excellent. Just really her skill on the field, just mental toughness. And she’s been clutch with PKs. That’s a lot of pressure on a goalkeeper to go into three rounds of PKs in tournaments.”

Norwell lost captain Mary O’Connell to a sprained ankle in the first half, but she returned for the first sudden death.